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Our most powerful resource as a parent is prayer. We must bring our children before the throne of grace every day, several times a day! I’ve heard it said that we will never be perfect parents, but we can be praying parents. This is so true and vitally important. We need to have a daily goal of our Heavenly Father hearing our children’s names from our lips. I take this more serious than ever now that I am the only praying parent these children have. I WON’T let them down. Here are 10 ways to pray for our children.

Pray for Their Dedication

“And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.”

In 1 Samuel 1:11 Hannah vowed a vow to God promising that she would give her son to the Lord all the days of his life. We need to remember that these are not our children. They are the heritage of the Lord (Psalm 127:3). God is in control. He is the owner and giver of every good gift (James 1:17). We need to dedicate our children to God daily and to pray that God will be glorified in their lives. They need to know that they don’t belong to us, they belong to God. It is God’s name that they represent!

Pray for Their Salvation

In 2 Timothy 1:5 Paul speaks of the unfeigned faith that was in Timothy, which was first in his mother and grandmother. You KNOW that unfeigned faith included prayer for Timothy, especially prayers for his salvation and spiritual growth. Our children need to know what sin is and their desperate need of a Savior. It is imperative that as parents we pray for our children’s salvation. Their relationship with the Lord is the single most important relationship they can have.

Pray for Their Friends

We need to make sure they realize Jesus is their best friend (Proverbs 18:24) and we need to pray God will provide good friends for our children. Pray for friends that are loyal to God and our children (Proverbs 17:17), friends that are faithful and truthful, friends that look out for our children’s best interest (Proverbs 27:17). When we pray with our children, we need to pray for their friends and their friends’ families.

Pray for Their Spouse

We need to pray that God will give our children a spouse of “your father’s house”(Genesis 24:40). Pray that somewhere there is a family raising their children and preparing them to have a right heart, pure toward God. Pray for a family that is also praying for their children to find the right spouse. The one God has chosen for them. We need to pray our children will not be unequally yoked to the wrong person (2 Corinthians 6:14). This can be a heartbreaking experience.

Pray for a Surrendered Will

We need to pray that our children’s will would be completely surrendered to God. A child with a surrendered will will fear the Lord. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Pray for a surrendered will so that they will have the knowledge of God’s direction and purpose for their lives. So that they will have the ability to make decisions based on God’s will and do what God would have them to do.

Pray for Their Health and Safety

We need to bathe our children in prayer for their health and safety (Mark 5:22-23). Pray that God keeps them in perfect health so that they may serve Him. (Matthew 15:25-28). Pray for their physical and mental health. And especially pray for their spiritual health/growth. We need to ask God every day to put a protective hedge around our children.

Pray for Their Character Development

Character development is best learned through trials. When our children do face a trial the first thing we should think is, “I wonder what character trait God is going to develop in my child through this”. When our children go through trials and troubles it is an opportunity for them to learn how great and helpful God is. Character is developed in difficult times.

We need to pray for their integrity (Hebrews 13:18), that they will always be truthful. Pray that they are respectful (Ephesians 6:1-3). Pray for them to have wisdom (Philippians 1:9-10). They need more than a do/don’t list. Our children need to know how “to approve things that are excellent”. We need to teach our children what is good, better, and best and to pray that every day they choose the best, the right decision in all that they do. We need to pray that they walk in humility (James 4:10).

Point out good and bad examples of character as you go through your day. They can be found everywhere; on t.v. shows, sporting events, the news, in the general public. Look for ways to teach them how to do right and how to do the will of God.

Pray for Open Doors in Their Lives

Having a humble yielded heart brings the favor of God and man (Luke 2:52). We need to pray for God to open up the right relationships for our children, help them to meet the right people and be in the right places along the way. We need to ask God to help our children to get around the right people and the right circumstances that would enhance them and help them. Pray for open doors for witnessing (Colossians 4:3). We need to pray for God to use our children to tell others about Jesus Christ. Pray that God would give them the right opportunities for work and bless their calling (1 Chronicles 4:9-10). When God does open doors for our children we need to remind them that door came from the Lord. We need to pray that God would close doors too.

Pray for Their Spiritual Protection

The devil has his darts aimed right at our children. I believe he is going to do everything he can to destroy the next generation. We need to pray for a spiritual hedge of protection around our children (Ephesians 6:16-18). We need to be prayer warriors for our children, “praying always with all prayer and supplication”. We need to uphold our children in prayer (Job 1:10). Satan wanted Job. Satan knew that God had put a hedge about Job. Nothing was going to happen to Job that God didn’t allow.

All of the fiery trials are Father filtered

Pray that Your Children will Bring Glory to God in Their Lives

We need to pray that whatever they do in their lives that our children will bring honor and glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). They need to understand this is the sole reason they’re here, for God’s honor and God’s glory. Our prayers for our children are the greatest legacy that we can leave.

We are right now creating a legacy for our children

I find it helps to carry an index card or something similar around with me all day to remind myself to stop and pray. I’ve made a postcard size list for you to print & carry as a reminder.

1 comment on “10 Ways to Pray for Our Children”

I pray for my children every day, that they would deepen their walk with the Lord, that their future spouses would be sexually pure, that they themselves would be sexually pure and be kept from temptation. In pray that they will be mighty prayer warriors and know exactly their calling in life.